Force Touch
by Judy Ebberley
PART 2
I t was another three hours before Han decided he was too tired to think straight, let alone carry out the difficult and delicate work required to replace the dampeners.
As he sat down on the couch in the forward hold he was reminded pointedly of the cut on the back of his head. Grumbling, he collected the discarded med kit and found some antiseptic wipes.
Chewie lumbered in as he was attempting to manoeuver himself into a position where he could see what he was trying to do.
*Let me do that.*
Solo's head was pushed forward so that the Wookiee could begin cleaning the wound.
*If you had allowed the little princess to clean it earlier, things would not be so bad now,* Chewie scolded as Solo complained over his rough treatment. *Will you stop squirming? You're worse than a Wookiee cub with whelpine worms.*
"What're whelpine worms?" Luke queried as he and Leia entered the forward hold.
Solo's attempted glare at such a dumb question lost much of its venom as Chewbacca tugged him back into position by his hair in order to continue his work.
"Oww! Careful, Chewie," he protested. "That hurts."
*Well, keep still,* was the unsympathetic retort.
As the Wookiee completed his ministrations, Han breathed a sigh of relief and gave a warm smile of thanks as a hot drink was placed in front of him by Luke. "Thanks, I'm ready for this."
As Solo sipped his drink, he demanded to know how work was progressing in other parts of his ship.
*There is really only the dampener to replace now,* Chewie rumbled reassuringly. *But before we tackle that, we all need rest. You in particular, cub,* he added, taking in the greyness in his captain's face.
"Chewie's right," Skywalker opined as Solo pulled a face at this suggestion. "You're falling asleep right here."
"No I'm not..." Han's attempt to hide a prodigious yawn was unsuccessful. "Okay," he conceded, taking in their 'We told you so expressions.' "I'm a bit tired." Chewie's eyebrows twitched. "Okay, a lot tired. But so is everyone else."
A forceful furry finger and a deep-throated growl forestalled any thoughts he might have had of further protest. Surrendering to the inevitable--arguing with the Wookiee when he was in this sort of a mood was pointless--Han raised his hands. "Fine, I'll rest, but if Her Highnessness misses her conference, don't try and put the blame on me. Okay?"
"Will he be all right, Chewie?" Luke threw a worried glance at Solo's recently closed cabin door. "He looks exhausted."
The Wookiee nodded reassuringly. *He'll be fine after he's had a rest.*
Knowing that Chewie's priority was first, last and always concerned with the well-being of a certain Corellian pilot, Luke was satisfied.
*We can manage without him,* Chewie continued. *He is not the only one capable of repairing the Falcon,whatever he likes to think.*
Luke and Leia exchanged smiles at these words, knowing Solo's love affair with his ship was mirrored by the care and skill lavished on it by the Wookiee. Chewbacca was an exceptional mechanic who had taught Han much of what he knew.
*But before we continue our work, we will eat,* Chewbacca decided. *We will all be better for a hot meal.*
"This is good, young Walker,* Chewie complimented Luke, who had taken it upon himself to produce a meal for them, as he placed a meal in front of the Wookiee a short while later. *Very good.*
Luke waited until they had all been served before he tackled Chewbacca on a matter that had been exercising his mind since he had touched the Force essence of the Corellian during their near-miraculous escape from the space storm. The Tatooinian fixed his friend with a determined gaze. "How did Han manage such an exceptional piece of piloting?"
"Yes, I'd like an answer to that as well," Leia added. "I mean, I know he's good. He tells us often enough, Force knows. But what he managed today was astonishing."
The Wookiee had been waiting for these questions, having felt the Tatooinian's Force aura in the cockpit as his captain had been struggling for control of his ship. He knew what the young humans were getting at but chose to answer their questions literally. *He has always been a good pilot.*
Luke rolled his eyes at this understatement. "But it's more than that, isn't it?" The Wookiee looked determinedly noncommittal. "Ben Kenobi hinted as much on the journey to Alderaan." Clear blue eyes fixed themselves on much older, wiser ones. "He said you were an exceptional pair and there was more to you both than meets the eye."
*Really? That was good of him.*
"He said," Luke persisted, "that you know far more about Solo than you let on and that you have a considerable influence over him."
The Wookiee snorted humorously. *I wish he'd told that to Han!*
Luke chuckled at this riposte, recognizing the depth of feeling in the words. "I think he tried but Han wouldn't listen."
The Wookiee's fangs gleamed as Leia chimed in: "No, he has to be the most stubborn hard-headed person I have ever met."
*He can be hard to convince.*
"He can be impossible!" Leia insisted.
"Why does Han pretend he doesn't believe in the Force?" Luke persisted.
The Wookiee shrugged massive shoulders. *The cub knows he has special talents,* Chewie growled, measuring his words with care. *But chooses to ignore the obvious and make up his own more acceptable excuses for his abilities.* It was as close as the Wookiee was going to come to admitting that Han knew he had an affinity with the Force which manifested itself in his incredible piloting abilities. He noticed Leia had finished her meal and decided it was time to bring the conversation to an end. *If you are ready, little princess, we had better go and finish that wiring if we hope to get off this forsaken planet in the next few hours.*
Luke watched as Chewie shuffled off down the corridor after Leia, then returned to his own tasks. Eventually, Han would be forced to admit his Force abilities, no matter how hard he strove to ignore them. Luke just hoped he was around when it happened. He couldn't wait to see how the Corellian would try to explain away his affinity with the Force.
Han woke with a pounding head, rolled over onto his back and groaned as he forced opened his eyes. "This is the reward you get for being such a good pilot," he grumbled, hauling himself upright so that he could sit on the edge of his bunk. Stretching, he rubbed his hand over his face. What he needed was a long, hot shower. Checking the amount of water in the Falcon'stanks, he was pleased to see that there was a plentiful supply. Sonic showers were all very well, but a real shower was what he needed to revitalize himself now.
As he allowed the hot water to stream down his back, Han reflected on their escape from the space storm. "Sometimes I even manage to amaze myself," he decided.
He'd been in some pretty tight corners before and had called on all his resources to get out, but this occasion had been different and he had to acknowledge that fact, whether he liked it or not. Another's strength had somehow augmented his own talents... It wasn't the first time; he'd experienced the feeling once before and he hadn't liked it much then. He shivered involuntarily, remembering how he had been fighting the tractor beam that was pulling the Falconinto the Death Star when he had felt an additional strength added to his own. It had worked with him doing his best to free his ship from the beam, then suddenly it had gone as if it knew the task was hopeless, and old-man Kenobi was telling him there was more than one way of fighting.
Solo's stomach flipped uneasily, as it always did at the thought of Ben Kenobi. Against his will, he recalled the Jedi knight's sly smile when he'd asserted to Luke that there were no mystical energy forces controlling his destiny. There had been a faint tremor of silent laughter to accompany his words. "Damned old fool," he said now, shaking the water out of his hair and reaching for the cleansing gel.
Unfortunately he found it was not as easy as that to put such unsettling thoughts out of his mind.
"This is what comes of hangin' around with Luke Skywalker," he told himself, firmly rubbing a towel through his hair. Deciding he'd had enough gloomy thoughts and introspection, Solo donned his clothing and hit the privacy lock to open his cabin door, then sniffed appreciatively. Along with the usual smells of lubricants and fuel, there were tantalizing whiffs of cooking--real cooking, not replicator fare. Han's stomach growled and he nodded firmly in agreement.
"Sleeping beauty finally woke up," Luke called down to Chewie, still working in one of the holds, who had asked to be told when Solo roused. "He wants to know why we haven't finished yet."
Solo threw a disgusted look in Skywalker's direction at the torrent of abuse this comment engendered. "That's not what I said," he yelled down the corridor. "I just asked how much there was left for me to do. Okay, okay," he placated the Wookiee. "Luke and I'll do the communicator tube, soon as I've had somethin' to eat." There was another angry blast from Chewie. "I'm hungry, all right, and I can do it without you," Solo yelled back. "I ain't totally incompetent, ya know." Chewbacca didn't sound convinced, reminding Han pointedly about the last time he had worked in the tube.
"That was just bad luck," Han grumbled. "What are the atmospheric readings like now?" Chewie told him. "Good, so if I can get that work done in the communicator tube we should be off this rock real soon. Come on, Luke." He handed the Tatooinian his empty plate. "The sooner we start the sooner we get outta here."
Han squirmed along on his back, using his elbows and heels to move, and cursed every time he caught himself on the sides of the tube. He'd forgotten how uncomfortable the damned thing was.
"Are you alright?" Luke called anxiously as a particularly choice curse rent the air.
"Yeah," Solo grumbled in reply. "I just collected another bruise, that's all. Whoever designed this area of the ship must have had a warped sense of humor. Give me a bit more slack on the harness will ya?... Thanks."
There was a period of silence as the Corellian worked on the dampeners. Luke tentatively reached out with his feelings again, trying to recapture the Force aura that he had shared with Han the day before.
Deep in the access tunnel, Solo scowled, suddenly uncomfortable. "Luke! What the hell are you doin' up there?"
Hastily the Tatooinian withdrew his Force sense. "I was just trying to help out."
"Yeah? How? By messin' with my mind?" Solo grumbled.
"Sometimes the Force can be of help even to those who profess not to believe in it," Luke persisted, thinking back to their adventures of the day before.
Han was obviously thinking the same thing. "You and I both know that your all-powerful Force wouldn't know shit about flyin' a star ship." Solo attempted to imbue his voice with its usual cynicism but it came out sounding rather less than his normally brash, confident self, even to his own ears. "Right?"
Smiling at the doubting tone and the Corellian's unwitting confirmation of the fact that Han had recognized the fact that he had used the Force, Luke's reply was sweetly reasonable. "Not if you don't let it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" an exasperated Solo demanded. "No, don't tell me," he declared. "It was a dumb conversation anyway. I must be getting space happy or something."
"Or something," Luke agreed softly, happy that despite his denials, his cynical friend had at least begun his journey towards an acknowledgment of the power of the Force in his life.
Below him, Han returned to his work, struggling with a recalcitrant bolt and mumbling to himself about the impossibility of working in such a restricted area. "Friggin' bolt!"
"What's wrong now?" Luke called down.
Increasingly frustrated by his inability to complete his work, Solo swore again. "The way I'm stretched out, I can't make it shift."
Luke couldn't resist. "You'll have to use the Force, Han."
"Skywalker," Solo sighed gustily, blaming himself for giving Luke such an opening. "I keep telling you, I don't believe in the--ouch!" The bolt turned suddenly, causing Han to catch his knuckles on the side of the tube.
Above him, Luke Skywalker opened his eyes and inquired innocently: "What's happened?"
"The damn bolt shifted, just as I applied some force, that's all. An' I banged my knuckles. It's taken all the skin off." Solo sucked his grazed fingers. "Anyway, I've finished now. I'm comin' up. Watch the harness don't snag on anything, will ya? I don't wanna get hung up down here any longer than I have to be."
As he crawled out of the tube, Luke's smug expression prompted him to ask. "What you grinnin' at?"
Luke did a very good impression of Han's innocent-little-boy look. "Me? Nothing, nothing at all. I was just surprised to hear, after all you'd said, that you'd applied the Force."
Solo threw him a forbidding frown. "I didn't say the Force. I said 'force.' Aww, forget it." He flapped a disgusted hand at Luke and stomped off to the cockpit, but then turned for one last word and pointed a finger at the grinning Luke. "I don't want to hear any more about your godsbedamned Force. You got that?"
"Wouldn't dream of mentioning it, Han!"
"Good!" Solo strode off down the corridor. It was just luck that the bolt had turned then, that's all.
"In my experience there's no such thing as luck," a familiar voice whispered in his ear.
Han swung round expecting to see Luke's grinning face. The corridor was empty. Suppressing a shudder and ignoring the gentle mocking sound of ghostly laughter, he continued on his way.
"Solo," he told himself as he checked his system board, "you're losin' it."
Furious with himself for initiating that conversation with Luke and increasingly uncomfortable over his thoughts about the Force and the effect it might have on his life, he yelled for Chewie, Leia and Luke to join him in the cockpit.
"Heads up people, we're gettin' out of here," he informed them as they arrived.
"What's the sudden rush?" Luke's innocent sounding query was rewarded with a scalding glare from the Corellian.
"Watch your mouth, Skywalker, an' go fasten yourself in. We're leavin'."
"Yes sir!" Luke sketched a salute. "Come on, Leia, let's leave the maestro to his work. He knows where he can call for help if he needs it."
Han growled something about lightsabers and unmentionable places, which just caused Luke to laugh all the more.
As the pair moved down the corridor, Han could hear Leia demanding to know what that was all about. Wincing at what Luke might tell Her Royalness, Solo turned his frustration onto his waiting partner, "What you waiting for, gruesome? Let's get outta here."
Under the Wookiee's expert hands, the ship came to life. Han settled himself into the pilot's seat, then gave himself a mental shake and determined to put the unsettling experiences of the last two days out of his mind.
Relaxing as he took the yoke, he smiled as the familiar tingle of excitement hit him as the Falcon'spowerful engines warmed up.
As the Falconboomed into hyperspace, Han Solo let out a whoop of delight. This was where he was meant to be. This was his natural place in the universe, and he didn't need any supernatural claptrap to help him be the master of it, he decided.
Somewhere behind him, the faint tremor of amusement he'd heard earlier turned into a full-blown laugh.
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PART 1